Staunton Hill, State Route 619, Brookneal, Campbell County, Virginia

Significance: Staunton Hill, the mansion house and estate built by Charles Bruce in the mid-nineteenth century, has been owned by the Bruce family for four generations. The creative forces behind the Gothic Revival mansion were Bruce and his architect/builder friend, John Evans Johnson. Built between 1848 and 1850, it reflected the emergence, in America, of the Gothic Revival style for domestic use. In addition, it was evidence of the wealth accumulated by the Bruce family in the generations following James Bruce' emigration from Scotland. The estate was used as a training field for the Confederate artillery during the War Between the States, and later emerged as a symbol of the survival of the prosperity of the "southern mansion." Following Charles' death, his son William Cabell Bruce tenanted the land out, using the mansion solely as a vacation home. Eventually, the burden of maintaining the estate became to great, and it was sold. Staunton Hill passed through the hands of several different owners from 1924 to 1933, and was operated primarily as a country club and hunting lodge. It again became the possession of the Bruce family in 1933, when it was purchased by David K.E. Bruce, former ambassador of the United States to the Court of St. James, and younger son of William Cabell Bruce. He immediately set about restoring the manor house and grounds, receiving proposals from several prominent architects including Willilam L. Bottomly, who intended to reconstruct the entire structure in a Georgian Revival style. Fortunately, the submission of William A. Delano was chose and the only major addition to the original layout was he west wing, which simultaneously created a courtyard on the north side of the house. Staunton Hill remained a part of the Bruce family following the ambassador's death, and is currently resided in by his son, David S. Bruce.
Survey number: HABS VA-1020
Building/structure dates: 1850 Initial Construction
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 69000229